Analytical Expression for the MIMO Channel Capacity

This paper presents analytical expressions for the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channel capacity in frequency-flat Rayleigh fading environments. An exact analytical expression is given for the ergodic capacity for single-input multiple-output (SIMO) channels. The analysis shows that the SIMO channel capacity can be approximated by a Gaussian random variable and that the MIMO channel capacity can be approximated as the sum of multiple SIMO capacities. The SIMO channel results are used to derive approximate closed-form expressions for the MIMO channel ergodic capacity and the complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) of the MIMO channel capacity (outage capacity). Simulations show that these theoretical results are good approximations for MIMO systems with an arbitrary number of transmit or receive antennas. Moreover, these analytical expressions are relatively simple which makes them very useful for practical computations.